Kirkwood Community College getting offers for $7.5 million IC campus

Kirkwood Community College will move the majority of its operations to Coralville by fall 2023, resulting in anxiety about what the future of the school will look like.

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Matt Sindt

The Iowa City Kirkwood campus is seen on Feb. 17, 2023.

Jack Moore, News Reporter


University of Iowa programs tied to Kirkwood Community College — such as the joint nursing program — will not be impacted by the $7.5 million sale of the community college’s Iowa City campus in the fall.

The community college announced on Jan. 12  that it is selling its 32-year-old Iowa City branch and relocating to its regional center in Coralville. The facility has a list price of $7.5 million, Kirkwood’s Vice President of Facilities Troy McQuillen wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan.  McQuillen wrote there is a listing agreement with Cedar Rapids Skogman Realty agent Lydia Brown.

McQuillen did not provide names of the interested developers or organizations but wrote they are currently accepting offers for the property.

“We have listed the facility with our real estate team, and they are actively working with developers and organizations that have interest in the property,” he wrote.

The college is expecting to save $400,000 in operational costs by selling its campus in Iowa City, Kirkwood President Lori Sundberg said in a statement.

Kirkwood did not confirm who will buy the 97,094-square-foot, multi-building facility. The Coralville facility opened in 2015 and is located at 2301 Oakdale Blvd.

Map by Jami Martin-Trainor/The Daily Iowan

Steve Schmadeke, UI public relations specialist, wrote in an email to the DI that the university does not expect Kirkwood’s move to Coralville will eliminate any joint programs with the community college such as the current joint nursing program.

In addition to partnering with the UI, Kirkwood’s partnership with Iowa City Community School District allows high school students dual enrollment opportunities to receive college credit.

RELATED: New UI, Kirkwood nursing partnership hopes to increase the number of nurses with BSNs

The announcement stated the institution is going to look at working with Iowa City schools using the district’s facility on the ACT campus.

“Looking for new and expanded ways to work with our K-12 partner in their newly acquired facility also makes good sense, as it allows us to maintain a presence in Iowa City in a more cost-effective manner with current enrollment levels,” Sundberg said.

Adding the Kirkwood Regional Center is more accessible for the community and has enough room to conduct the for-credit and noncredit courses offered by Kirkwood.

On Kirkwood’s Cedar Rapids campus, professor of psychology Judith Wightman said some faculty members are concerned the Coralville facility will not provide the same experiences for students and faculty.

The services in question are Kirkwood’s food pantry, library, writing center, and cafe. With Kirkwood moving its facilities to Coralville in the fall, providing the same services as the Iowa City Campus could be challenging.

“I think many faculty and staff have concerns that the Coralville building does not have some of the services that the Iowa City campus has,” Wightman said. “Those services could be duplicated at the Coralville building, but they are not currently set up.”